THE DRIVE: GOP leaders admit health care overhaul on shaky ground

The GOP is looking for help, Cornerback Revis has charges dropped, Fed raises rates and more top headlines for your drive home, Wednesday, March 15, 2017.

From staff and wire reports

House Speaker Paul Ryan is stressing that President Donald Trump helped congressional Republicans write their beleaguered health care bill while GOP moderates continue to deny support for the plan.

In the Senate, a senior Republican said even if the health bill passes the House, "it wouldn't pass the Senate." On a call with state reporters, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said his party has to act, but he's concerned that middle-aged and older adults will have to pay more under the House bill.

House GOP leaders met with Senate counterparts recently and "they got a clear message from Senate Republicans that there had to be changes," said Grassley.

NFL CORNERBACK REVIS SEES ALL CHARGES DROPPED

PITTSBURGH — A judge has dismissed all charges against former New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis stemming from a fight last month in Pittsburgh.

Revis had been charged with aggravated assault and other counts in a fight Feb. 12 in which two men were punched and knocked out.

A witness testified Wednesday that he came to Revis' aid during the fight and was responsible for the knockout punches.

FED RAISES KEY INTEREST RATE

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time in three months and forecast two additional hikes this year. The move reflects a consistently solid U.S. economy and will likely mean higher rates on some consumer and business loans.

The Fed's key short-term rate is rising by a quarter-point to a still-low range of 0.75 percent to 1 percent. The central bank said in a statement that a strengthening job market and rising prices had moved it closer to its targets for employment and inflation.

US ENVOY MAKES FIRST ASIA TRIP

TOKYO — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday began a three-nation tour of Asia where anxiety is rising over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, along with questions over how the Trump administration will tackle one of its sternest national security challenges.

Tillerson flew to his first stop in Japan as the U.S., Japanese and South Korea navies conducted missile defense information-sharing drills in the region. Uncertainty remains, however, over how the U.S. administration intends to pressure or persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons that also pose an emerging threat to the United States itself.

SEXUAL ASSAULTS INCRESE AT TWO OF THREE MILITARY ACADEMIES

WASHINGTON — Reports of sexual assaults increased at two of the three military academies last year and an anonymous survey suggests sexual misconduct rose across the board at the schools, The Associated Press has learned.

Assault reports rose at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, while dropping at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

TRUMPS ALLIES MELTING AWAY ON WIRETAP CLAIMS

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's explosive allegation that Barack Obama wiretapped his New York skyscraper during the presidential campaign has left him increasingly isolated, with allies on Capitol Hill and within his own administration offering no evidence to back him up.

But Trump is standing by his tweet that the Obama administration wiretapped him last year.